Locomotive-frame brace



No. 6|4,64I.

Patented Nov. '22, I898. D. A., WIGHTMAN.

LUCOMOTIVE FRAME BBAGE.

(Applicatioxi filed oa. e; was.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

I I I I I I I z I I I i I i 1mm ma NORRIS PETERS 00., Pno'ruumcjwasnmamn,

N0. 6|4,64l. Patented Nov. 22, I898;

D. WIGHTMAN.

LOCDMOTIVE FRAME BBAGE.

(Application filed Oct. 6, 1898.) (No Model.)

2 Shgets--Shaet 2.

Att'y.

THE NORRIS P T R LITHO.. WASHINGTON UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

DANIEL A. lVlGI-ITMAN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCOMOTIVE-FRAME BRACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,641, dated November 22, 1898.

Application filed October 6, 1898. $erial No. 692,849. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL A. W IGHTMAN, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Locomotive-Frame Braces, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide effective and conveniently-applicable means for obviating the tendency to breakage of locomotive saddles and cylinders due to longitudinal strains exerted upon the frames and transferred therefrom to the saddles and cyliuders.

To this end my invention, generally stated, consists in the combination, with the front rails or bars of a locomotive-frame, of a transverse brace having lateral flanges abutting against and secured to the frame-rails and forming a continuous rigid connection between the opposite frame-rails substantially throughout the distance between the bumper and. the saddle.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set fort-h.

It has been conclusively demonstrated that the most satisfactory and economical performance of the results desired in railroadservice is attained by the employment of much larger and more powerful locomotives than those formerly used, both in freight and fast passenger traffic, and these are now the rule in the most approved present practice. In the operation of engines of this character not only do the conditions which obtained in that of smaller and lighter types become more extended in their requirements, but also additional demands are made upon the constructor to enable the engine to properly withstand the shocks and strains due to materially higher speeds and increased train-loads. Much difficulty has been experienced, particularly in comparatively large locomotives, where long foot-plates cannot be used by reason of the excessive strains brought upon the saddle-castings, due to the natural tendency of the boiler to move in the direction of the motion of the engine when the bumper suddenly comes into contact with a load or a body of sufficient weight to retard the loco motive. These severe and frequent strains are thrown almost entirely upon the saddlecastings, which in time, and often in a very short time, break, and new saddles and cylinders must be supplied at large cost of application and additional loss by reasonof the withdrawal of the engine from service. My present invention is designed to relieve the saddles from the injurious action of the strains above stated, and has been found in extended practical service to effectually attain this result without involving any substantial expense in application or interference with the essential features of the present standard types of locomotives.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan or top view of the front portion of a locomotive-engine frame, illustrating an application of my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal central section; Fig. 3, a transverse section at the line at a; of Fig. 1, and Fig. i a side View in elevation.

In the practice of my invention 1 provide a metallic transverse frame-brace having a stout horizontal plate or body 1, stiffened by ribs 2 on its lower side, lateral flanges 3, and front and rear flanges 4 and 5. The lateral flanges 3 are machined, and the width of the brace is such that they fit closely against the inner sides of the upper and lower rails or bars 6 and 7 of the front ends of the engineframe. Lugs 8, the upper and lower faces of which are finished, are formed on the outer sides of the lateral flanges in such Vertical relation thereto as to fit truly between and act as distance-pieces for the upper and lower rails 6 and 7 of each of the side members of the frame.

The brace is rigidly secured to the framerails by horizontal bolts 0 and 10, passing through the lateral flanges and through the upper and lower rails, respectively, and by vertical bolts 11, passing through the lugs 8 and through both the upper and lower rails.

It will be obvious that continuous lateral tongues or projections might be substituted for the separate lugs 8, if desired; but in such case an unnecessary amount of metal would be used.

The brace is made of such length as to extend substantially throughout the distance between the bumper 12 and the saddle-castings or cylinder bed-plate 13 of the engine, but is ordinarily stopped a few inches from the saddle, as shown, this being a matter within the discretion and design of the constructor. To obtain the most effective results, its front flange t should be in line with the front ends of the frame-rails and abut against the bumper 12, so as to act as a backing therefor, as well as a brace for the frame. In such case the front flange 4 is preferably, as shown, made of substantially the same depth as the bumper and is secured thereto by bolts 14.

hen applied to locomotives having a twowheeled forward truck, the center-pin tube or socket 15 for holding the cradle in position may be cast upon the plate 1, as shown, or, if preferred, may be made separate and secured by bolts to the plate, the former being, however, the more desirable and economical construction.

The brace is preferably formed in an integral casting of iron or steel, but may Without variation of structural or operative principle be a built-up structure composed of rolledmetal shapes or pieces of proper form and proportions to provide when assembled and 0011- nected the several features and capabilities hereinbefore set forth.

It will be seen that my improvement renders the front portion of the engine-frame a rigid and practically unitary structure from the bumper to the saddle-castings, and a special feature of practical value is presented in its capacity to effectually resist diagonal strains, as in shocks of contact applied near the corners of the bumper or against the end of one side member of the frame, or otherwise out of the longitudinal central plane of the engine.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the front rails of a locomotive-frame, of a transverse brace having lateral flanges abutting against and secured to the frame-rails, and forming a continuous rigid connection between the opposite frame-rails, substantially throughout the distance between the bumper and the saddle.

2. The combination, with the front rails of a locomotive-frame, of a transverse brace havin glateral flanges abutting against the framerails and outwardly-projecting lugs fitting between the rails of each side frame member, horizontal connecting-bolts passing through the lateral flanges and the frame-rails and vertical connecting-bolts passing through the lugs and the frame-rails.

3. The combination of a locomotive-frame, a bumper, and a transverse brace having lateral flanges abutting against and secured to the frame-rails and a front flange abutting against and secured to the bumper, said brace forming a continuous rigid connection between the opposite frame rails from the bumper to or near the saddle.

4. The combination, with the front rails of a locomotive-frame, of a transverse brace having lateral flanges abutting against and secured to the frame-rails, and a center-pin tube or socket in its central plane, said brace forming a continuous rigid connection between the opposite frame-rails substantially throughout the distance between the bumper and the saddie.

5. A metallic transverse brace for the front ends of locomotive frames, composed of a horizontal plate or body, stiffened by ribs, lateral flanges adapted to abut against and be connected to the rails of each side member of the frame, projecting lugs adapted to fit between the rails of each side member, and a front flange adapted to abut against and be connected to a bumper.

D. A. \VIGIITA'IAN.

itnesses:

J. SNOWDEN BELL, O. A. \VILLIAMS.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 614,641.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 614,641, granted November 22, 1898,

upon the application of Daniel A. Wightman, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for an improvement in Locomotive Frame Braces, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction, as follows: In line 44, page 1, after the Word used a comma should be inserted; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 20th day of December, A. 1)., 1898.

[SEAL] WEBSTER DAVIS,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Countersigned C. H. DUELL,

Commissioner of Patents. 

